My colleague has just started her MBA studies. One of her first assignment was to ask some heavy question from co-workers like: What does it take to be an effective leader? Well, here is my anwer. An effective leader has to be effective at leading him/her self. First and foremost. If a leader is not able to manage himself/herself how do you expect him/her to manage others? If this criteria has been fulfilled then it is time to move further. I have to stop here for a second, because this still means nothing. Over the years we have seen how